In today's epoch of globalization, business is all about successful adaptation and long-term survival. Quite often, the ability of a business to constantly adapt to changes is adjudged on the basis of the strategies it frames, which are in turn driven by its thirst for survival. These strategies to be successful and to enable better adaptation to changes, should also incorporate the critical HR policies, which can add the critical human angle. This article is attempted to elucidate the vital role HRM can play when it is linked with the overall business strategies.

With the arrival of multinational firms, the firms are compelled to maintain their competitiveness in order to successfully hold their market share. At the same time, the complexity in the organization is also growing as a result of globalization and IT revolution. This is the fact that quality human resource is one of the most important resources with the organization that ensures the sustainable competitive advantage in the long run.

Every generation of managers feel that they had to face more change than their previous counterparts. If we observe, we can find that this trend of demand for change does not show any signs of slowing down. There are no simple solutions which can counter turbulences as the success in such situations will entirely depend on the soundness of the strategic decisions and its successful implementation. Business-driven HRM ensures that the strategy is the driving force for all HR policies and plans, and that the consideration of the human element is vital for all important decisions. The common forces of change which are immune to geographical boundaries and affecting all types of organizations are: Competition, demanding customers, accelerating pace of technological obsolescence and the pressure to deliver shareholder value. The common responses to the forces of change are cost emphasis, time consideration, closeness to customers, cultural change, flexibility, fast reaction and engaging in new forms of relationship with suppliers for quality, costs and strategic reasons.

Nowadays, strategic management is quickly replacing strategic planning because it is a more comprehensive way of managing a business as it emphasizes the management of strategy with a focus on implementation and control. The evolution of the strategic management took place through the following four phases: Phase 1 Extended budgeting, Phase 2 Forecasting, Phase 3 Externally-based planning and finally Phase 4 blends both strategic planning and strategic management into one process of strategic management, which incorporates the `soft behavioral issues' along with the `hard' aspects of the external environment.

Global CEO Magazine, Human Resource Management, HRM, HR Policies, Strategic Management, Business Strategies, Business Environment, Corporate Strategy, Organizational Culture, Business Process Re-engineering, Organization Culture Inventory, Human Resource Management System.